


Darn socks

by Petrichor24



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: A little bit of implied sexual content, But pretty much only intense kissing, Hux loves books, Hux with glasses is the reason I live, Hux's cat keeps stealing Kylo's underwear, M/M, Neighbours AU, and that's how they meet, but Kylo doesn't know who's cat it is, they're both such cute nerds
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-03
Updated: 2016-07-03
Packaged: 2018-07-19 20:25:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7376155
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Petrichor24/pseuds/Petrichor24
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Once again, the cat has somehow gotten into Kylo's apartment. And once again, it's stolen his socks. </p><p>Feeling as if he will have lost if he just buys some more underwear, Kylo goes on a search to find where his undergarments have ended up. This search leads him, unwittingly, to Hux.<br/>When he meets his neighbor, Kylo finds more than he bargained for.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Darn socks

**Author's Note:**

> Another Fanfiction inspired by a tumbler prompt. This one just said "Cat stealing underwear and socks from a neighbour." And, somehow, that turned into a 2000-ish words long story. Not sure how that happened. 
> 
> Anyway, hope you guys enjoy it. Don't be afraid to comment what you thought, good or bad, at the end. I'm still pretty new at this stuff, so all comments and kudos are greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Kylo unlocked his door, sighing after a long day at work. Once again, he caught the panicked, swift disappearing of the cat's tail. Everyday for the past two weeks, this cat had been coming into his apartment and stealing items from his underwear drawer. He had tried closing it, then jamming it closed, then locking his doors, then closing all the windows; but still the damn thing got in. After days of searching and attempting to stop the pest entering, he had given up. Now he was constantly washing socks and underwear, frantically searching for a clean pair every morning. The cat hadn't yet stood still long enough for him to see if it had an ID tag, as he desperately wanted to know where all his clothes ended up. He could imagine some crazy old cat lady surrounded by odd socks and boxers, her cats using them as beds and toys. He could just buy some more, but that would be giving in; that would be losing. 

Several days later, when his favourite pair of socks - the blue ones with the cactuses on them - were taken from him by that beast, Kylo finally decided that he had had enough. But what could he do about it? Not knowing how to solve his feline conundrum, he pushed it to the back of his mind, rushing to get ready for work. "Not again! My boss will kill me if I'm late again!" He ran down the stairs to the bottom floor of the apartment building, his bag bouncing on his hip. Scrambling out onto the street, he unlocked his bike and pedalled quickly away, towards the restaurant where he waited tables. 

"Ren, tell me what is wrong with your attire today." The manager of the diner raised a thick, grey eyebrow in disapproval. Kylo paused. The manager sensed that he needed a hint, glancing down at Kylo's feet as if they were particularly horrible insects of some sort. The younger man looked down, and the hem of his trousers lifted to reveal one red sock and one pink sock. In his rush, he hadn't noticed that they were different. "I'm sorry, sir, I'm currently going through a... Um, sock-shortage." The other man's look of incredulity was enough to tell Kylo how ridiculous the statement sounded; "A sock-shortage? And a grown man like you can't deal with that?" Kylo blushed, biting his lip, maybe telling him that a cat stole the entire contents of my underwear draw would sound even worse. "Of course I can, Mr Manager. It won't happen again."

On his way back up to his apartment, Kylo bumped into a neighbour he hadn't met before. He had heard word of a new person moving in from the man who owned of the building, but had not been told a time scale. He stopped by the person's side, giving him the customary charming Kylo smile. He seemed to be struggling with a few too many brown paper bags full of shopping; "Hi, uh... Would you like some help?" The other man turned towards Kylo, looking mildly surprised. He had vivid red hair and large black glasses which slipped endearingly down his nose at a jaunty angle. He was probably in his early twenties, wore jeans and a check shirt and had a lanyard with a computing company logo printed across it hanging from his neck. Placing the three bags he had been wrestling with on the floor, he shook Kylo's hand eagerly, introducing himself. "I'm Brendol Hux. Just Hux, to my friends."  
"Kylo Ren. Just Kylo, to anyone as cute as you." He winked, delighting in the shade of pink Hux's face went. When the other man stammered, struggling to find an answer, Kylo said, "Anyway, do you want my help in getting your groceries up the stairs?"  
"Oh, that would be really kind, thank you." Hux muttered, sounding formal and nervous, even to his own ears. Kylo picked up three of the brown bags, and together they hefted them up to Kylo's floor, level 6. Hux stopped, dropping a bag and fumbling for his keys. Kylo smiled, "Your apartment is on this level too?"  
"Yes." Hux replied, "I'm at number 354."  
"What a coincidence, I live at 357, a few doors along." The door swung open, and he carried the shopping all the way in to Hux's kitchen, placing it onto the counter. The other man thanked him, "You really didn't need to do that, I'm very grateful." He laughed, rubbing the back of his neck, "I've only just moved in this week, and I'm not used to apartment living; all the stairs and neighbours and whatnot."  
Kylo smiled, "It's okay, I understand; I was the same when I moved in. I had to do several trips up the stairs with all my clothes and stuff, before I even got to furniture! The moving men didn't help at all, so I had to call in some friends to help me get my sofa up here."  
"I haven't been brave enough to move my furniture out of storage yet; it would be too big a job for me to do on my own." He pulled out a bottle of wine from one of the bags, "Stay for a drink?" Kylo was surprised, but he couldn't say no.  
"Yes, please." They both sat on small chairs opposite each other, with Hux apologising for now uncomfortable the seating arrangement was. "It's fine," Kylo chuckled, "I like it." Hux explained to him that, as he had just moved, he hardly knew anyone in the city. He had a few old friends, but they were too busy to meet up, or on holiday out in the countryside. Kylo sympathised, he had been alone for some months, when he had first moved there to go to University. "But the people are really friendly, you just have to be daring and give it a try." Hux nodded, "I've always been shy, but I guess that this will make me get over it." They both chatted for hours, the sun fading and the sounds of the city dimming. Finally, Kylo realised how late it was, and they hadn't even eaten. Hux sighed, "I've already been a terrible host! Please, stay for dinner? I bought ingredients to cook my speciality dish."  
Kylo tipped his head, "And what would that be?"  
"A surprise!" Hux laughed, crossing to the kitchen area and pulling boxes of tomatoes and cuts of meat out of the fridge (one of the few big essentials he had been able to rope in help to get into his apartment). He was adept at cooking, hands moving expertly across buttons and chopping vegetables with fatal speed. "You're pretty good at that." Kylo observed, trying not to trace with his eyes the curve of Hux's hips and the line of his legs. The way his muscles moved under his shirt was driving the other man slowly insane. Hux laughed, flashing Kylo a teasing look, "I guess that practice makes perfect, and I do it a lot." The flirtatious lilt of his voice was calling to Kylo, loud and clear. The dark-haired man hoped the the rising temperature of the room was due to the fact that Hux had turned on the oven and the gas hob. They did not speak much more after this, Hux asked Kylo if he preferred one food over another once or twice, Kylo complimented the smell of the dish, and pleasantries were exchanged. Other than this, Kylo couldn't help himself from appreciating the sight of Hux. He originally assumed that the redhead would be skinny and shy, only interested in computers and robots and the like; but the man who dominated the kitchen in front of him was far from what had been expected: muscular (from what he had observed), well-built with wide shoulders and long legs, and fascinated by literature and animals and cars and traveling and a whole host of other things, the proof of which was the shelves upon shelves of books of all genres that adorned almost every wall. Books on ancient history, the Amazon, far-flung tropical islands and classics by Jane Austen, Conan-Doyle and even the entire set of the Harry Potter books (in order of preference, not number). Kylo scanned the titles of novels in other languages that he couldn't decipher and books bound in leather so old the titles had faded to a blur. Hux, having finished Put the dish in the oven, caught him looking. "They're lovely, aren't they?" Kylo jumped, surprised at Hux's presence at his shoulder.  
"Yes," he breathed, "Its like your own personal library in here. You must be very passionate about literature."  
"I am. I always have been, even when I was young. It's never something you lose, I believe. Even when I'm old and grey, I'll still be reading." The way his eyes seemed to glow when he spoke about his passion made Kylo's heart race.  
"Do you have a favourite?" Kylo whispered, feeling as if his usual tone of voice was too loud for the almost holy silence of the moment. Hux laughed, "What a difficult question!" He met Kylo's gaze, and his eyes were a shadowy, regal green that both threatened and teased and Kylo didn't know if he was reading too much into it but at that moment he realised that he was totally and irrevocably in love. The silence stretched out for what felt like an eternity, as Hux considered the other man's inquiry, never breaking the eye contact that felt like so much more. Hux's glasses had slipped down his nose without him noticing, and although Kylo thought he looked unbelievably cute, he instinctively reached out and pushed them carefully back to where they should be. Hux smiled, blinking in surprise at the other man's tenderness. "I think... My favourite book would have to be Frenchman's Creek by Daphne Du Maurier. Do you know it?"  
Kylo smiled, "I cried when I got to the end."  
Hux' brows furrowed, "But it wasn't that sad."  
The dark-haired man shook his head,"No, but it was over." His tone was soft and gentle, and Hux's expression of complete, unguarded surprise and familiarity made something inside of Kylo move. He brushed the other man's cheek with one hand, fingertips curling across his skin. Hux's eyes conveyed a sense of pure understanding that no one had ever displayed to Kylo before; and suddenly they were upon each other, lips quick but tender, hands temperate but wanting. The meal was mostly forgotten as they stood in the centre of the room, saying more with actions than could be conveyed with words. Hux pushed Kylo back into the sole armchair which cowered in the corner of the living room, placing one knee on the edge of the chair as Kylo sat; their lips not once separating. As Kylo reached for the top button of the other man's shirt, the cow-shaped timer on the oven made a novelty mooing noise, completely interrupting the moment. Hux leaned back, rolling his eyes, "I'm sorry, but we wouldn't want to burn the food, would we?" His tone was laced with sarcasm. Kylo jumped up clumsily, following him to the table area and sitting down. Hux collected the dish and poured glasses of wine. They sat, and the food was so good that the only sound was that of them eating. Once he had finished, Kylo sat back with a smile; "You really are an amazing cook, Hux."  
"You flatter me." He muttered, cheeks bright in the candle-lit room. A small squeak-like sound announced the arrival of a cat, which came in the front door and jumped up onto Hux's lap. The redhead smiled, "Mr Darcy! How nice of you to grace us with your presence; and you've brought me another gift! How kind of you." Kylo, however, was pointing violently at the creature. "You!" He spat at the beast, standing up. He then turned his attention to Hux, who looked utterly shocked. "It was your cat that has been stealing my underwear for weeks!"  
Hux begun laughing uncontrollably, his head thrown back. Kylo stopped his attack on the other man's pet to watch him laugh. It was a glorious sound. "They were yours?" Hux choked out, smile wide.  
"Yes, they were mine. Still are, actually." Kylo crossed his arms, feigning anger. Hux stood, crossing the space between them; he rubbed Kylo's shoulders, whispering into his ear, "You could have them back, I suppose. But not all of them. I want to keep some."  
"What?" Kylo blurted, shocked at Hux's proposal. The other man just raised his eyebrows innocently,  
"It'll be a reason for you to come back." He shrugged, dropping the recently-stolen sock into Kylo's lap.  
"Oh, Hux, trust me; I'm coming back." He brushed the other man's cheek again, laughing. Hux beckoned him into another room, flicking on a light. A large, black bed filled most of the space; and to the right. on top of a chest of draws, was a large pile of boxers and coloured socks. Hux gestured towards them, one eyebrow raised. Kylo went to shovel some into his pockets, but then thought better of it; "Maybe I'll just get them in the morning, if you don't mind me knocking on your door early in the morning?"  
"No, I don't mind at all." Then his tone changed completely, "or... You could stay. That would make getting to your socks and such much easier, and you wouldn't have to wake me up." Kylo caught his gaze, which had that darker blue hue again. It gave Kylo shivers. "I suppose that is the most convenient way of doing it." He took a step closer, "But your apartment is small, and you don't have a sofa in here to me to sleep on..." He left the sentence unfinished, the question unspoken. Hux grinned, glad that Kylo was playing along; "Oh, I'm afraid that you might have to sleep in the bed. With me." As Kylo closed the distance between them, tipping Hux's head up with a finger, he sighed dramatically; "What a shame; I don't know how I'll cope."


End file.
